One Question
by WhereDestiniesMeet17
Summary: Pre-Movie. After reflecting on the downfall of their friendship, Ed makes one last effort to salvage it. But in the end, he's left asking himself the same unanswerable question. Ed/Charley. Slash.


_**One Question**_

Disclaimer: I do not own _Fright Night. _This is written strictly for entertainment. No profit was made from this piece of fiction and no copyright infringement was intended.

Pairing: Ed/Charley, slight Charley/Amy.

Rated: T for language

Summary: Pre-Movie. After reflecting on the downfall of their friendship, Ed makes one last effort to salvage it. But in the end, he's left asking himself the same unanswerable question. Ed/Charley. Slash.

Author's Note: Yeah, I'm not much into Angst, but what can I say? I love Ed and we all know that Charley was a total dick to him. Concrit welcome, reviews appreciated.

* * *

In all of Ed's musings, he always came back to the same inescapable fact. There were three people responsible for the demise of his and Charley's friendship.

The first was Charley's dad. He was the first nail in the coffin, in more ways than one. When he walked out on Charley, it killed something inside him. Ed and Adam had picked up the pieces and glued Charley back together as best they could. They must have missed a few pieces though,-fuck, they might have slid under the bed or under the closet door for all they knew-because Charley was never the same afterwards.

He was different. He was distant in the most painful of ways. Charley pushed people away, because he couldn't go through the pain of being abandoned again. Ed was certain of that, but it still hurt like hell.

The second person, the second nail, came in the form of a female, by the name of Amy. For years the three of them had made fun of her and her posse. They had been the typical teenage girls portrayed on terrible television shows. They put too much emphasize on their hair, makeup, and boys. They were so into the popularity bit that it hurt to listen to them. They were walking Barbie dolls.

Ed didn't believe it when Charley started crushing on the bitch. It was only when she started paying attention to Charley that it really became a problem. She only needed to twitch a finger, and Charley came running. She turned him into a poodle that she liked to take with her everywhere. Charley was only too happy to go.

The third and final nail came from Charley himself. Ed thought that maybe it had been his fault, but he knew that it wasn't. He wasn't the one that was a dick, and he wasn't the one that drove Charley away. Charley left all by himself.

It was Charley who always ran when Amy called. It was Charley who found reasons and made excuses to ditch them for her. It was Charley who broke their frail and fading friendship and buried it in the past. It was Charley who pretended like none of it had ever happened.

Eventually, Adam moved on. As the weeks drifted by, so did Ed. Occasionally, he would get bitter about Charley's actions. He would ask himself, how could he just walk away from us? Why the fuck would he do something like that? Did their friendship mean nothing to him? Had he and Adam _ever_ meant anything to him?

Ed couldn't answer any of his questions. He couldn't even answer the ones directed at himself.

* * *

It was two months after their last conversation, Ed finally broke down. He couldn't stand the question running through his head, picking at his brain like a vulture. He wanted an answer, damn it.

It was fifteen minutes pass five when he knocked on the door. From somewhere deep within, he heard someone shout that they were coming. He shook his head, turning to look at the suburb he called home.

Some people where just getting home from work, while others were just leaving. Down the street, a kid punched his little brother, starting a typical sibling fight. Their parents either didn't see, or didn't give a fuck. A little further down, a little girl was sitting on the side walk, crying. A teenage boy was walking pass her, saw her tears, and paused. He reached for her shoulder, froze as war raged inside his mind, and then drew back. He cast looks over his shoulder, regret and guilt etched into his features as he went about his way. As he walked pass, he caught Ed's eyes, looking ashamed.

Ed followed his movements until he disappeared into a house across the street. Ed sighed, running his eyes across the homes. He spared a brief glance at the house beside Charley's. It was fittingly empty.

Then the door opened behind Ed, forcing him to turn. He looked Charley in the eyes and everything he had hoped to say died in his throat.

* * *

"Hey," Charley said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Hey," Ed returned. He groped for his lines, finally finding them. He poised them on his tongue, but they felt all wrong. They just didn't fit the moment anymore.

"What are you doing here?" Charley asked, stepping through his front door, shutting it behind him.

A tendril of anger snaked its way into Ed's words. "Are you afraid to be seen with me Brewster?"

Charley sighed, deep in his chest. "Ed, it's not like that."

"Then what is it like?" Ed demanded.

"I-We-We just grew apart, is all." Charley finished lamely.

"Grew apart?" Ed asked incredulously. "Are you fucking stupid, or is that how you justify ditching us for that slut?"

Charley gritted his teeth, anger making his face flush with color. "Get the fuck off my doorstep, Ed. Whatever this was, it's over."

"Answer one question first," Ed snarled.

"Fine. Then go home and leave me the hell alone." Charley snapped.

Ed took a deep breath, glaring at Charley. Questions bounced around his head like a bad game of ping-pong. They wrestled with each other, fighting to be the one that got to take control and be unleashed. And somehow, while everyone else was distracted, an entirely different thought crept up and slipped into the control seat.

The shock that accompanied Ed's next action was mutual.

* * *

Ed pressed his lips to Charley's, unaware that he was doing so, until he had done it. The kiss lasted only seconds before he felt the hands on his chest, shoving him away. He hit the ground with a thud, snapping him out of the trance he had fallen into. He looked up at Charley, meeting his shocked and slightly panicked eyes. Ed picked himself up, shoving Charley away when he stepped toward him.

"Ed, wait." Charley demanded, confused and angry.

"Fuck off Brewster." Ed snapped and walked away.

Charley didn't follow.

* * *

The blazing, indifferent sun was setting the horizon on fire by time Ed reached the street his house sat on. The time for Charley to stop him had come and gone. Whatever there had been between them lay broken at Ed's feet, covered in the dirt that Charley had buried it with. It never should have dug itself up. It should have stayed in the ground where it belonged.

Ed clenched his fists, biting his lip. He hadn't gotten the answer he sought. He was still left with the same question that had been plaguing him for months.

Why did he have to fall in love with Charley fucking Brewster?


End file.
